1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for managing an Ethernet ring network of a VLAN-based bridge, and more particularly, to a technology for managing an Ethernet ring network for effectively registering a VLAN ID and updating a VLAN entry in a VLAN filtering database in order to operate Ethernet ring protection in an Ethernet bridge capable of recognizing a VLAN.
2. Description of the Related Art
An Ethernet ring network is constituted by Ethernet bridge nodes (hereinafter, referred to as ‘ring nodes’) providing a plurality of Ethernet ports. Two (one is East: hereinafter, referred to as ‘E’ and the other is West: hereinafter, referred to as ‘W’) of the Ethernet ports of each ring node are used to form a connection with an adjacent ring node and the rest of the ports are connected to an Ethernet network outside of the ring network. The number of ring ports of a node receiving a sub ring may be increased by one depending on the number of received sub rings.
In the Ethernet ring network, each of the ring nodes should create a filtering database table so as to prevent the delivery of an Ethernet frame from forming an infinite loop. Such loop prevention may be implemented by logically blocking one predetermined link called a ring protection link (RPL) in the Ethernet ring network. The Ethernet ring network has a ring protection link (RPL) owner node in order to provide such logical blocking. Herein, the delivery of the infinite loop of the ring is prevented by logically blocking an Ethernet port connected with the ring protection link among Ethernet ports of the ring protection link owner node. When both sides of the ring protection link need to be logically blocked, a node position at the opposite side to the ring protection link owner node of the ring protection link may be called a ring protection link (RPL) node.
Meanwhile, when a link failure occurs in the Ethernet ring network, the link with the failure provides physical blocking and when the link with the failure is blocked in order to prevent an error, the ring protection link owner node prevents the delivery of the infinite loop of the ring and connects all nodes that belong to the ring network by rapidly removing logical blocking. For the ring blocking and ring management, and state delivery, an R-APS message is used.
As such, in order to provide the Ethernet ring protection, the filtering database table should be created in order to prevent the delivery of a frame of each node from forming an infinite loop in the Ethernet ring. For this, by deactivating one link constituting the ring by blocking a predetermined link in the Ethernet ring, the corresponding link is processed as if it does not exist, thereby logically preventing the ring from being formed. Further, the delivery of the infinite loop is prevented by creating a delivery table in each node in accordance with a source address learning method used in a general Ethernet MAC (Media Access Control) mechanism. Herein, the blocked link is just logically designated and a physical link exists. Therefore, traffic can be delivered immediately by removing the logical blocking.
The technology related to the Ethernet ring protection is actively being developed at present. Specifically, the technology may relate to a protection operation process of an ERP (Ethernet Ring Protection) controller for Ethernet protection and a direct signaling technology of an R-APS frame.
However, a method for configuring an Ethernet ring network topology in an Ethernet bridge capable of recognizing a VLAN in order to implement the Ethernet ring protection technology, and a management method related to registration of a VLAN ID and the updating of a VLAN entry in a VLAN filtering database, which is required to operate the ERP controller, do not exist.